Wearing T shirts and jogging shorts, they seemed like any other young East Germans enjoying a summer afternoon. Suddenly Maigda Adryan, 22, and three male companions clambered over two fences, plunged into the sludgy river Spree and began swimming to freedom from East to West Berlin.
Ignoring shouts from a watchtower, they thrashed across the 100-ft. span of water, cheered on by tourists at the Reichstag, Germany's prewar parliament, on the other side. Before Adryan could get across, a gray East German patrol boat churned up beside her, nicking her ankle. A guard on board aimed his gun. "Don't shoot!" she...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
